The purpose of this study was to investigate various textual characteristics of popular children television shows. More specifically, researchers examined both the quantity and quality of question asked (i.e., question training). Furthermore, several readability components among the different shows (e.g., narrativity, syntactic simplicity,…

This article focuses on aspects of children's rights as portrayed in television. The results of a six-month research study show analyses of television content of Channel 5, which is the only free-to-air, 24-hour, English-language entertainment channel in Singapore. The results identify the role of television in assisting Singapore to meet its…

Empowering children for a critical and judicious use and consumption of media is a main objective of media literacy. This paper aims to examine the range of television programs available for children in Portugal through a comparative analysis of the programming for children broadcast by the four Portuguese terrestrial channels (RTP1, RTP2, SIC and…

Concludes that next-day weather forecasts given by television stations are usually accurate and that stations seldom change their forecasts between the early evening and late evening newscasts. (FL)

Finds that nature as a theme is completely absent in 80% and the outstanding theme in only 1.7% of television programming; not only less frequent, but separate from the dominant themes in prime-time; and treated as a sociopolitical "issue" (like "politics,""science,""religion," and "education").…

Presents a systematic content analysis of more than 150 commercial characteristics of CLIO winners from the years 1975, 1980, and 1985. Finds that CLIO winners have different characteristics than do commercials proven to be effective in the marketplace. (RS)

Analyzes the content of more than 1000 commercials sampled from ABC, CBS, and NBC. Finds that nostalgia was used by means of theme, copy or music about 10 percent of the time and that nostalgic references to family activities or to "olden days" were most likely to be used with food and beverage commercials. (PRA)

Concludes that using the eyewitness news format--emphasizing violent, human interest and comic material--in an effort to gain larger percentages of the ratings may not be in the public interest. (RB)

Reports that two of the three major television network newscasts had the same lead story more than 90 percent of the time and that all three had the same lead more than 40 percent of the time. (FL)

Defines documentary-drama or docudrama, which combines elements of drama with the television documentary. Outlines the antecedents of docudrama, traces its revival in recent years, and provides a quantitative description of its evolution. (JMF)

An analysis of the prime time television offerings of the three commercial network-affiliated television stations in Rochester, New York, revealed that nonentertainment programing was minimal (5 percent) and that entertainment shows of all types predominated during prime time. (GT)

Discusses media coverage of public relations topics. Describes a census of television news stories about public relations. Finds increased coverage from 1980 through 1995, and that politicians and foreign governments are the most commonly reported on users. States that stories generally have a neutral tone and assume the "press agentry"…

Examines coverage of several infectious diseases and teenage suicide to see whether television news favors covering illness where it clusters or when it occurs near major news centers where it is easier to cover. Finds that television news did go to where the illness broke out but tended to favor reporting urban over rural suicides. (RS)

Investigating persons viewed on local television news (other than anchors and reporters), a study examined 810 local television news stories from 1986 to 1987 from a national sample drawn from the files of a news consultant, and 543 stories (34 newscasts) from Cincinnati, Ohio, network affiliate newscasts in the summer of 1987. The unit of…